She stood up and said, “No, it’s all ready.  You two stay there while I get it out.”  The look of pure happiness she gave me caused my heart to constrict.  My mother had missed out on so much in her life.  Seeing me happy with someone had been one of those things.  To be able to give her that now made me even more determined to make this relationship with Layla work.

As she left us to go to get lunch, Layla leaned into me and said, “I like your Mum.”

I smiled at her.  “I can tell.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

I frowned.  “What for, sweetheart?”

“For this . . . For letting me into your family.  I know I’ve only just met your Mum today, but I can already tell she’s special and different to my family.  And because I’ve never had that, it means even more to me.  It’s the best gift you could ever give me.”

Fuck.

I curled my hand around her neck and pulled her to me.  Pressing my lips to hers, I whispered, “I love you.”  As the words left my lips, calmness descended on me.

Peace.

Fuck, that elusive fucking feeling I’d been searching years for.

It was right here.

It was Layla’s gift to me.

“I love you, too,” she said, and fuck if that didn’t hit me right in the chest.

We sat staring at each other for a while before I finally said, “You know I’m fucking kicking myself for wasting a year, don’t you?”

She smiled that smile of hers that pressed all my buttons.  “Yeah, baby, but maybe we both needed that extra year.  Life happens in her own good time.  Our job is just to be open to it so that when it happens, we can catch it and not let it pass us by.”

Fuck.

She amazed me.

I was going to crack myself wide fucking open so I didn’t miss a damn thing this woman was offering me.  Life wasn’t going to pass me by anymore.  And although I had a lot of demons still to put to bed, I knew she’d be there right by my side, helping me.

I brushed my lips over hers again.  Tightening my grip on her neck, I said, “Thank you for the gift you’ve given me.”

Confusion flickered on her face.  “What gift?”

“You accepted me for who I am.  Unconditionally.  And you’ve stuck by me, even when most women wouldn’t.”

She placed her hand against my cheek and whispered, “I love you, flaws and all, Donovan Brookes, and don’t you ever forget it.”

THE END

Epilogue

Blade

“Blade!” Ashley called out to me.

I turned to see her running towards me with a smile on her face.

I stopped and waited for her to catch up to me.

She held something out to me and said, “You forgot this.”

I looked down at what was in her hand.  A key.  “What is it for?”

As she put it in my hand, she whispered, “It’s the key to your heart.”

I had no idea what she meant so I waited for her to explain.

She pressed her hand to my chest.  “You locked your heart and threw the key away when I died.  You’ve found someone to love you now, but you need to open your heart to her completely.”  She nodded at the key in my hand.  “You’ll need that.”

Fuck.

Stepping closer to me, she brought her hands to my face and held it.  Her lips lightly dusted mine, and then she said, “I’ll always love you, Blade, and I know you’ll always love me, but you need her now.”  She let my face go and took a step backwards.  “Goodbye.”

I watched as she disappeared right in front of me.

I waited for the pain to slice through me.

It never came.

I sat bolt upright in bed and turned to the bedside clock.

Seven am.

Layla’s arm reached for me.  “Baby, what’s wrong?” she asked, sitting up next to me.

I looked at her.

Fuck, she was beautiful.  Even with messy hair and that first-thing-in-the-morning look.

“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart,” I murmured.  “Go back to sleep.”

Everything was right.

She shook her head.  “No, we’ve got a huge day today and I want to be ready for it.”

I chuckled.  “It’s hardly a huge day.”

She gave me a dirty look and rubbed her eyes.  “Don’t you give me grief, Donovan Brookes.  If I say it’s a huge day, it’s a huge fucking day.”  She pushed the bed sheet back and got out of bed.

As she padded into the bathroom, I said, “Okay, you win, it’s a huge fucking day.”

Stopping, she turned back to look at me.  This time she hit me with a grin.  “Baby, when will you understand that I always win?”

I shook my head and muttered, “Oh, I fucking understand that, don’t you worry.”

Her grin grew, if that was possible, and she left me alone.

Today we were going to lunch at Madison’s house.

My mother was also coming.

Madison had pushed for it, and Layla had encouraged me to agree.

It had been nearly a month since Marcus’s death, and we were all moving forward, leaving the past behind us.  Bringing my mother and half-sister together seemed like it could be a mistake, but everyone was looking forward to it.

Everyone except me.  I still felt apprehension.

Layla came back to the bedroom and threw a t-shirt at me.  I looked at it and chuckled when I realised it was a new one.  “Have you been shopping again, baby?”